Diabetes in children

Belinda Tod's daughter Milly was one of the youngest Australians to be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

"Milly was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on May 30, 2008, one month after her first birthday.

"She hadn't been herself for a few days. She cried every time she woke, clung continuously to me and just seemed miserable.

"The first doctor my husband Adrian and I took her to said it was a phase. But then Milly began waking at night, saying she was thirsty even though she'd been drinking all day, and her nappies were constantly wet.

"We went to another doctor and were told it could be diabetes, 'although that would be extremely unlikely' because of her age. We were then told to come back in a week if she wasn't better.

"Two days later we saw a third doctor and were sent to Emergency. She was suffering diabetic ketoacidosis – a life-threatening shortage of insulin. If we'd left it another 24 hours, she would have been in a coma.

"In the beginning, we felt shock, anger, guilt and relief that she was going to be okay. We were overwhelmed with the amount of information and responsibility. I remember wishing a nurse would come home with us so I never had to do a finger-prick or give an injection to our baby.

"We relied on doctors and diabetes educators in the early days but gradually began to manage Milly's diabetes independently. Some good advice we got from a Brisbane specialist early on was to have a 'can-do' attitude and instil it in Milly. We still base our approach to managing her diabetes on this advice.

"In the beginning, she was having two insulin injections a day, but at one stage that got up to four or five. Most adults with type 1 diabetes test their sugar levels four times a day – we still test Milly up to 10 times a day.

"Since August last year, she has had an insulin pump, which is much easier to work with. We input her blood-glucose level and how many carbs she's eaten and the pump calculates how much insulin to give her.

"Milly has a varied, healthy diet. People chuckle at the four-year-old wolfing down salad at our local restaurant, but she loves it.

"Because she was diagnosed so young she never had a chance to become addicted to sugar, but she occasionally has party foods.

"We are always aware of what Milly is eating, how much exercise she's doing and ensuring food is eaten at the right time. We count or estimate the carb content of everything she eats.

"In the beginning, it was difficult as Milly wasn't able to tell us if she was having a hypo (low-blood-sugar) or a hyper (high-blood-sugar) incident, but now we hardly ever have a low that goes unnoticed. She also knows if she's running high as she needs to go the toilet more frequently.

"Other kids are curious about the disease and often ask questions. Milly or I answer them and it's no big deal. Aside from the testing, everything else she does is the same as other kids her age.

"When Milly was diagnosed, we knew nothing about type 1 diabetes. I remember crying and asking if it was because I ate too many lollies when I was pregnant or breastfeeding. I'm stunned when I think about my ignorance!

"Acquaintances are often ill-informed about the difference between type 1 and type 2. We've had people ask, 'Will she grow out of it?', 'What could she have eaten at such a young age?' and 'But she's not even overweight.'

"Sometimes we're surprised at the lack of knowledge, but we remind ourselves it's our opportunity to educate people about diabetes."

Milly's view

While many adults don't understand type 1 diabetes, four-year-old Milly, pictured above not long before her diagnosis, can explain it very simply. "It means I have to have insulin because my pancreas doesn't work any more," she says. The aspiring movie star says the only downside is the injections, which sometimes hurt. "Mummy says I can do anything with diabetes."

What is type 1 diabetes?

It is a life-long condition where the immune system attacks itself and kills the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. It can occur at any age but is most common in children and adolescents.

Without insulin, you may eat a lot but be in a state of starvation because insulin helps extract the energy contained in glucose, which we metabolise from food.

Type 1 diabetes is managed through insulin injections or a pump, monitoring blood-sugar levels and a healthy diet.

About 20 per cent of cases are genetic and there is no known cause or cure. More than 95 per cent of children with diabetes have type 1. It is not to be confused with type 2, which is related to diet and lifestyle.

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Latest Comments ( 2 )

We have a 3yr old son who was diagnosed last year in May. It is such a lifestyle change and such a huge responsibility and alot of hard work. There needs to be more awareness as I had not heard of Type 1 diabetes until my son was diagnosed. Our local GP said that he was 'Too Young' to have diabetes when I took our son to see him after typeing in his symptoms into Google. We are happy that he is otherwise healthy and able to do all the things that other children his age can. Belinda, I wish you and your daughter Milly all the very best and thankyou for sharing your story. Blessings Always;-)

Hi all, I have had type 1 diabetes for 28 years (diagnosed at 12) one of the biggest pains (literally) is the blood testing regime. Also every diabetic I know tests by getting blood from finger tips which is very painful. As a strong willed person and as a teenager I refused to test as it hurt so I would test maybe once a week. Not very effective for good control. However I discovered years back that I could test accurately by getting blood from other less painful areas. The industry calls this alternate site testing and is usually done on forearms where there are only a fraction of the pain receptors. So blood testing is now pain free and I test about 6 times a day with ease. I would recommend this to all diabetics. Almost every blood testing kit will allow for alternate site testing. Just read the manual to speak to diabetes Australia. Happy testing

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